The soon to be announced 2020 National Automotive Policy will have used car dealers changing their selling process for the betterment of buyers. The NAP 2020 will have used car buyers providing honest third party vehicle inspection that will reveal the truth about the vehicles past. It looks like the format to be used will be the success story of the Perodua Pre-Owned business model where a full health check and warranty is offered on all used cars sold by them.
Accident damage reports and health check on electronic systems will be included. Clocking odometers will be a a thing of the past as service reports will need to be included. Used car dealers will also need to include a warranty to ensure they have delivered an honest running condition vehicle.
We have been buying used cars since 1981 and we have still not met a used car dealer that shared the complete truth with us. One of the used car dealers we dealt with was even a school friend and still some relevant information was missing just before the sale was signed.
Yes, we understand the fact that a used car comes with issues. There can be no used car that is in perfect 100% condition in any used car dealership in this country or anywhere in the world perhaps, but by ‘hiding’ important information from the buyer, you could be leading the used car buyer into a series of debts at the workshop.
The only used cars that we have had good experience with was when buying from friends. Yes, even we with some years of experience and knowledge of what to look out for in a used car find it best to buy from a friend (direct owner) rather than ‘risk’ a used car dealer.
So, why do used car traders in Malaysia always use these terms in their advertisements (online and print).
- Immaculate condition…..every used car has this term
- VVIP owner……..nearly every luxury car seems to be previously owned by a VVIP
- Doctor owned……so if it is owned by a doctor it is supposed to be a better buy? What a silly statement as I have friends who are doctors and their cars are never looked after.
- Low mileage….we know how cars are clocked and then re-clocked back to suit used car buyers needs.
- Accident Free…this is my personal favorite. All cars sold online today are 100% accident free…wow…what a revelation. Call and check with these dealers and they will confirm that their car has not even had a nick and the paint is all factory paint. There is nothing wrong in buying an accident damaged car as long as the repair work done on the car has been properly completed and it is not a danger on the road.
- Top Top condition……..really?
- King Of Car………what does this really mean?
This is why in recent years we have seen a flurry of online car traders (also B to B used vehicle websites) claiming 100% honest evaluations and price promises. Well from our viewpoint, they may have started as being 100% honest but today they might be skewing to the other direction as profit margins get very thin and the need to full-fill investor pockets get more important.
The selling of any used vehicle needs to be personal, through and professional and this is difficult to do unless you have an established client base built up over many years and a trust has been formed to better understand customer needs while balancing a profit that keeps the business running.
Many Malaysians have embraced the online method of selling and buying a used vehicle instead of visiting a used car dealer. So, many smaller used car dealers have bundled their operations and ‘balik kampung’ whilst some new used car dealers have emerged to work with these online portals as ‘agents’. These new ‘agents’ have started working their ‘magic’ on each and every deal to fatten up their wallets and the business is slowly turning back to its old ways.
The promise of easy money turns every car business sour.
